Protection
by vampout
Summary: Hardison and Parker go on a date. Eliot get's a lil' overprotective. One Shot, E/P Sibling Love!


**Protection**

**Disclaimer- As always I own nothing. Leverage and it's fantastical characters belong to Dean Devlin and TNT. **

**Pairings- Hardison/Parker and Eliot/Parker (sibling love)**

**Rated- T**

**One shot. Pure Randomness. **

"What the hell man?"

"That wasn't cool Sparky."

"I mean can't a guy have any privacy? I know that may sound a little hypocritical coming from me, but seriously, WHAT THE HELL?"

Eliot held Hardison's furious gazes, trying to squish the uneasiness and fear that he'd been feeling all night. Eliot doesn't do fear. Fear was supposed to fear him, not the other way around. "What?" he spat out, crossing his arms over his chest defensively.

"You followed us." Parker frowned. She didn't seem as angry as Hardison, she seemed more... confused.

"So?" he shrugged, knowing exactly why they were upset but pretending not too. "I always follow you guys."

"And we appreciate you keeping an eye out for us man, we really do, but we were on a date. Our very FIRST day to be exact."

"I found pepper spray in my bag." Parker cocked her head to the side, giving him her unnerving blank stare, "Did Sophie put that there... or you?"

Oh hell.

"You thought I was gonna hurt her?" Hardison practically roared.

Nate and Sophie rushed into the room, alerted to the sound of their team mates raised voices. "What's going on?" Nate questioned, looking between the three of them.

"Nothing." Eliot growled, storming into the kitchen.

"Nothing?" Hardison spluttered, turning to face Nate, "He followed us out on our date tonight! And he put pepper spray in Parker's bag like I was some type of fiend!"

Nate's eyes narrowed on the hitter who had his head half stuck in the fridge, presumably looking for a beer. "Is this true?"

The fridge door slammed and Eliot held two beers. One he threw against the brick wall beside him, shattering glass and beer everywhere, and the other he flicked the top off, taking several large generous gulps. When his scene was over her turned back to the team, wiping the back of his hand over his mouth, "I'll clean that up later."

"I think you're going to have to do some explaining." Sophie piped up, a little rattled from his outburst and a little more so by the way Parker was staring at him, like she knew exactly what was going on.

"I ain't gotta do nothin'." He snapped, his eyes landing on Parker. They held each other's gaze for a moment before he tore his away and walked out the apartment door.

Silence filled the empty room along with the strong aroma of beer.

"So I take it the date didn't go well then?" Nate mused.

Hardison rolled his eyes, "Not exactly."

"I need to..." Parker trailed off, staring at the door, she looked to Hardison then to Sophie before back again. "I'll be back."

"Parker honey, I think it might be best for him to cool down." Sophie suggested, but Parker shook her head.

"Not this time."

She found Eliot on the roof, seated on the side of the building with his legs swung over the ledge, beer still in hand. She knew he heard her approach, he was the only one that ever heard her.

When Hardison announced to the team that he and Parker were going on a date everyone had reacted differently. Sophie had been excited, Nate had mumbled something about office romances and Eliot... well Eliot hadn't said anything. He'd been completely unreadable. No angry glare, not even a hint of happiness for the both of them, just nothing.

That was what confused Parker the most. Eliot and her had been getting along so well. The bickering had been down to a minimum, they'd increased the frequency of their training session and he had actually smiled at her the other day when she'd told a joke. A real smile too, not one of his sarcastic ones.

So for him to reacted like he had, had confused her to no end.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked quietly.

He swallowed some more beer, "No darlin', I'm not mad at ya."

"Are you mad at Hardison then?"

He chuckled a little, but there was no humour behind it. "No, but I think he's a lil' angry with me."

With a frustrated frown she asked what she'd been dreading. "You thought I couldn't take care of myself?"

He began to shake his head but she continued, "You think I'm too crazy, that there's something wrong with me?" She hadn't even realised she'd let a tear slip until she tasted the saltiness in her mouth. She wiped it away quickly, looking down at her feet ashamed that she'd cried in front of him. She never wanted him to see her weak.

She heard him place the bottle down on the edge and his boots crunch against the concrete, but she refused to look up. "There is something wrong with you." He said softly and she sniffled, "But that's what makes ya who you are."

"Crazy." She mumbled, "You mean that's what makes me crazy."

"We're all a lil crazy Parker, that's why you fit in so well."

She looked up at him then, sniffling again and wiping at her eyes, "Then why? Why'd you follow us?"

His jaw clenched and he took a step back, his gaze drifting out over the city below. Whatever the reason, it wasn't a pleasant one. Sophie would probably tell her not to ask, it was common courtesy, but Sophie wasn't here. "Eliot?" she probed.

"I protect all of you, that's what I do, remember?"

"I didn't need any protection from Hardison." She told him, "You know he wouldn't hurt me, right?"

He nodded, "I know that. I trust him and you can take care of yourself."

"Then why wo-"

"The last time I let a girl I care about go on a date she never came back." he cut off, running a hand through his hair, "Damn it," he mumbled, sitting back on the edge, "she never came home."

Parker had a feeling she wasn't supposed to know about this, "She never came home?"

He nodded, "Found her body five days later in a ditch."

Her breath hitched, "She was your-"

"Sister." He ground out, "Camilla."

"What did you do?"

He looked up at her then and she saw the cold anger in his eyes. She knew what he did. There was no need for him to answer. "It was a long time ago." He stood up then, shifting uncharacteristically on his feet. "I won't follow you two again."

He walked away before she could get another word out.

When she returned downstairs a few moments later he wasn't in the apartment. The rest of the team were scattered all of the place, but when they heard the door open they were standing in front of her in seconds. Hardison still looked pissed, Nate looked somewhat amused and Sophie just looked plain worried.

"What happened?" Hardison barked off first. "Did he explain to you why he was stalking us all night?"

"There was no need." She answered calmly. "I asked him to."

"You asked him too?" Hardison spluttered.

"Yeah, I asked him to make sure you wouldn't get too hand-sy." She lied smoothly, grinning at her date, "Congratulations, he didn't pummel you, so I guess you passed."

Things returned to normal after Eliot's self proclaimed vulnerable moment on the roof. He'd been kicking himself constantly since he practically ran from Nate's apartment complex, dreading returning to work and seeing all their pitying gazes. Yet he didn't. Hardison had said something about 'thanks for not hitting me', Sophie smiled at him and Nate pointed to the still shattered bottle on the floor and told him to clean it up.

Parker, ever the enigma, hadn't said a word. In fact it seemed as though the conversation had never even happened. Except the following Saturday he returned to his home to find a note slipped under the door.

_Going to the movies with Hardison._

Folded in the note was a ticket for some movie called Tron.

**A/N Thanks for reading!**


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